Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has a long history of supporting children’s hospitals, starting with Walt Disney’s efforts to help develop and grow Children’s Hospital of Orange County(CHOC). That commitment lives on today at CHOC and at children’s hospitals around the globe, where Disney VoluntEARS are making magic for kids and families.
Laughter really is the best medicine, and Cast Members from the Shanghai Disney Resort recently brought a healthy dose of joy to the new Hematology and Oncology Center of the Shanghai Children’s Medical Center. Disney VoluntEARS and their families decorated and furnished the center’s “Happy World” activity room, themed to “it’s a small world.” The activity room will be a place of happiness, laughter and play for kids undergoing treatment. The resort also donated canvas paintings of 30 different dolls from “it’s a small world” to beautify even more areas of the center.
More than 300 Disney Cruise Line guests and Crew Members came together for a “PaintFest At Sea” on the Disney Magic’s transatlantic sailing from Galveston, Texas to Barcelona, Spain where the ship will homeport for a summer of Mediterranean itineraries. VoluntEARS gave nearly 500 hours of their time to paint 72 individual canvases that together form a mural measuring nine feet high and 24 feet long. Done in partnership with the nonprofit Foundation for Hospital Art, this colorful work of art, featuring characters from The Little Mermaid, now hangs in the Hospital General de Catalunya in Barcelona where countless children will be able to enjoy it. Check out this video of our guests and Crew Members bringing this mural to life.
Cast Members in these regions and across our company are actively engaged in supporting their local – and global – communities. We’re honored to bring a little Disney magic to hospitals like these and to help kids through their treatment and recovery with a smile. After all, giving back is magic in itself and something we all can share!